Green corn husking machine



April 14, 1936. A. KNIGHT GREEN CORN HUSKING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed March 25, 1933 i a? w April 14, 1936.

F. A. KN|GHT.

GREEN CORN HUSKING MACHINE Filed March 25,1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedApr. 14, 1936 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFIQE GREEN CORN HUSKING MACHINE Application March 25, 1933,Serial No. 662,799

12 Claims.

This invention relates to green corn husking machines and comprises newand improved means for facilitating the removal of the husks and silksand for washing and cleansing the ears during the husking operation.

The husks and most of the silk is removed from ears of green corn bymeans of rollers of various types by depositing the ears on the rollersin such manner that the husks and silk will be caught in the bitebetween the rolls and thus stripped from the ears.

Rolls of different materials and having surfaces of greatly varyingshapes are used, but all depend on the bite formed by the engaging rollsto grip the husk and silk and strip it cleanly from the ears.

Increasing demands of the canners have required and increase in speed ofoperation in husking machines with the result that the husking andsilking is sometimes not'as efficiently done as when the operativespeeds were lower.

When the ears with the husks and silk are deposited on the huskingrolls, which are rotating at a high speed, the movement of the rollsstarts the ears to rotate and as they rotate the bite of the rolls isexpected to quickly grip the husks and adhering silk and strip them fromthe ears.

In most instances the husk and silk is quickly so gripped by the bite ofadjacent rolls and quickly stripped from the ears; but since the speedshave been increased there has been a tendency for the ears to bouncemore or less during rotation due mainly to their somewhat irregularcontour, with 35 the result that the husk and silk is not as effectivelyremoved as before speeds were increased.

With the increase in speed of operation of the huskers, which means thata larger number of ears are passed through the machine in a given time,the husking stations have not been increased in number so that eachstation has to do its work in a shorter space of time than when theoperative speeds were lower, and since the higher rotary speeds of thehusking rolls seems to impart higher rotative speeds to the ears restingthereon during the husking, the ears seem to bounce more than beforewith the result that the husking is not as efficiently done.

In order to correct this trouble and if possible 50 increase theefficiency of the husking rolls so that the husks and silks would beremoved in a more efiioient manner than before, the subject matter ofthis invention has been evolved.

It was believed that if some means could be devised that would stop thebouncing of the ears Ell ficiently and much better husking isaccomplished 10 with the higher rotative speeds imparted to the rollsand ears than was accomplished when the machines were operated at slowerspeeds and just wash water was projected onto the ears, at practicallyno pressure, for cleansing purposes only 15'v and to keep the rollssomewhat clean from adhering silk and husks.

The high pressure sprays have been found to add other desirableadvantages.

Some years much of the corn is afflicted with smut which is a blacksmutty substance and somewhat powdery but which adheres quitetenaciously to the husked ears and has never before been properlyremoved during the husking operation.

With the high pressure sprays, however, this smut is attackedimmediately it is exposed by the removal of the husk and is so quicklywashed off of the ears that they are left almost perfectly clean as theyare discharged from the machine.

Another very difficult matter is also perfectly handled'by these highpressure sprays. Some years the corn borers are very abundant and doconsiderable damage to the corn, as well as other Worms and insects.More or less dirt and debris is left by these marauders that has neverbefore been completely removed in the huskers or any place else alongthe corn line but has had to be removed by hand labor.

The high pressure sprays attack this debris immediately it is exposed bythe removal of the husks and it is all washed away before the ear isdischarged from the machine.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a green cornhusker that will operate at a higher speed than heretofore and stillgive an equal or a higher eificient operation.

It is .a further object of the invention to provide a corn husking andsilking machine that may be operated at an increased speed of operation50 and have means for cleansing the ears from adhering dbris.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a green corn huskingmachine having high pressure spray devices for projecting sprays ofwater 55 or other liquid onto the sides of the ears of corn during thehusking operation to counteract the tendency of the ears to bounce fromthe husking rolls while they are rotated thereby.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a green corn huskingand silking machine having husking rollers rotating at high speeds andhaving high pressure spray devices projecting a liquid diametricallytoward one roller of a pair to counteract the tendency of the ears tobounce as the husks are being removed by said rollers.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a green corn huskingmachine having pairs of rollers for pinching the husks from ears of cornand at the same time rotating said ears to move said ears axially withsaid rollers and to have high pressure sprays of a suitable liquidprojected down onto the ears to hold them against the rollers.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a green corn huskingmachine having rotating husking rolls for removing the husks from earsresting thereon and to provide high pressure spray device for projectingliquid sprays onto the sides of the ears to tend to hold the earsagainst the rolls and for projecting sprays of liquid against the silkends of the ears to loosen the husks so the husking rolls will get aquicker bite thereon, and remove the silks and husks more effectively.

With such objects in view as well as other advantages that may beinherent in the invention, consisting in the parts and combinationshereinafter set forth and claimed, it is understood that the severalnecessary elements and combinations constituting the same may be variedin their proportions and placement without departing from the scope andnature of the invention, and in order to make the invention more clearlyunderstood, there are shown in the accompanying drawings, somewhatdiagrammatically, means and mechanism for placing the invention in apreferred form without limiting the improvements to the specificstructure shown.

In the drawings accompanying this application only parts of .a completehusking machine are shown but it is thought they are sufficient to showhow the improvements are applied.

Figure 1 represents a vertical sectional elevation of a green cornhusker showing the improvements applied thereto, and taken onapproximately the line l-I of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a partial vertical sectional elevation taken onapproximately the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation looking from the right of Figure 2 andshows the Geneva drive for rotating the pocket wheel or turret thatadvances the cars from one set of husking rolls to another set.

Figure 4 is a sectional elevation taken on a line of husker rollswherein the ears are moved axially with the rolls during the huskingoperation, as 44 of Figure 5.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional elevationtaken on substantially the line55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a view showing the high pressure sprays applied to huskerrolls that are inclined so the ears feed lengthwise along the rollsduring the husking operation.

Figure '7 is an end view taken on substantially the line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

Ears of green corn as they come from the field with the husks, silk, andmany times butt ends of pieces of stalk, are fed into the chain feeddevice by hand or otherwise as at I. This feed device moves the earstransversely of their axes and pass them into engagement with a knife 2that removes the butt and stalk if there is any. This cutting of thebutt of the ear loosens the husks at this end so that they may be easilyremoved after they are started. In cutting the butt off the cut usuallyextends up close to the first row of kernels so the large end of the coband the husks are completely removed leaving the remaining husks onlyattached by reason. of their being wrapped around the ear in the naturalmanner of growth.

After the ears have passed the butting knife at 2 they are carriedaround the curved end of the husker and dropped into the turret feedwheel 3 which is provided around its periphery with pockets 4. The wheelshown has six pockets but it is obvious that any other desired numbermay be provided.

This turret is driven intermittently by means of the Geneva drive deviceshown in Figure 3, the turret being mounted on the conduit 5 on which itrotates freely and is connected to the Geneva disk 6 by the sleeveextension 1.

The liquid conduit 5 is fixed against rotation and carries the highpressure spray nozzles 8 which are positioned to project high pressuresprays directly on the top sides of the ears and substantially at apoint on the ear periphery to cause the ear to lie close to the uppersurface of the husking rolls 9, but sufiiciently to one side to alsocause the ears to hug the surfaces of the rolls It This position of thesprays impinging against the rotating upper surface of the earspractically stops all tendency of the irregularly contoured ears tobounce from contact with the high rotative speed of the husking rollsand thereby enable the rolls to get a much quicker bite on the husks anddraw them from the car as shown at II.

By reference to Figure 2 it will be seen that at least one of the spraynozzles is positioned to project the liquid spray onto the silk end ofthe husks which has the effect of loosening the husks at this point sothe husker rolls will have a better opportunity of gripping them andstripping them from the ear.

The husker rolls 9 and H) are grooved as shown at 2 in Figure 2 with thespiral extending from the center toward the ends to cause the ears toride toward the outer ends of the rolls.

The pipe l3 may lead to any suitable source of liquid supply andpressure means which are not shown but are well known in the art.

The turret 3 has a centrally disposed drum section I 4 extending itsentire length and forming a bottom for the pockets 4, with holes l5through which the liquid is projected to reach the ears resting on thehusker rolls.

The machine shown has parallel feed ways for the ears so that two linesof ears are passing through the machine simultaneously, and in thismachine the ears are always moving transverse to their axes.

Figures 4 and 5 show a machine wherein, after butting, the ears aremoved axially over a pair of husker rolls. In this type of machine thereis only one pair of rolls and the high pressure sprays are projectedonto the ears in substantially the same manner as described for theother type machine. In this machine, however, the sprays contact withthe silk ends of the ears as the ears pass thereunder in an axialdirection so that the silk ends of all ears, no matter what theirlength, will have this end sprayed quite efficienctly and the husks andsilks well loosened so the rolls will have a quick bite thereon to stripthem from the ears.

In the machine of Figure 4 the ears are advanced in an axial direction,continuously, by the chain l6 and flights llbearing against the buttedends of the ears.

Operation The first action of the high pressure sprays is to loosen thehusks as quickly as possible so that the husker rollers will get a quickbite on the husks and silks and remove them from the ear. Just as soonas the kernels are exposed the sprays begin to dig out the smut and wormdirt carried by the ears and which is usually buried under the husks,especially the worm dirt. The action of the sprays on the silk end ofthe ears tends to spread and open the silk end of the husks with theresult that the rolls bite the husks here almost as quickly as on thelarger part of the ear and since the husks have been cut loose from thebutt end when the silk end is loosened the husks are stripped 01f almostinstantly and the continued husking operation tends to remove the lastvestage of husk and silks and exposes the stripped ears to the washingand cleansing effect of the sprays for the maximum time allowed by thespeed of the machine.

Applicant knows that water has been used for flushing purposes inhusking machines and water has been run onto the husker rolls and earsduring the husking operation, but in no instance known to applicant'hasthe greatly improved results in operation and the greatly improvedquality of corn resulting from such operation been obtained as with thepresent operation with high pressure sprays.

In a modern canning factory the husked corn usually passes directly fromthe huskers to the kernels cutting machinery where the cobs are fed intoand through knives that cuts the kernels from the cobs.

On the way to the cutting machines operators and inspectors arepositioned to visually examine all the ears as they are moved along by abelt conveyor, and all smutty or wormy corn is removed, butnotwithstanding this inspection some is sure to get by, because theordinary manner of flushing the ears and husker rolls was not sufficientto remove the smut and worm dirt from the ears, except where it was veryloose or the smut was in large portions but when that was washed off themovement of the wash water was not sufiiciently effective to remove andwash away the smut and dirt adhering closely to the kernels and downnear the cob.

Under this old method of operation almost all of the corn in years whenthe corn was much accepted, was polluted with this smut and worm dirt,since there was no known way to remove it during the husking and beforecutting, and in the cutting every bit of such debris was sure to remainwith the cut kernels and some of it eventually find its way into the canfor private consumption.

Since the inauguration of the high pressure sprays, however, the earsare so well washed and cleansed that there is hardly a trace of smut or'worm dirt remaining on the ear or embedded in around the kernels whenthe ears leave the husker so that they can be passed directly to thecutters without the usual inspection, or at least very many of the usualinspectors may be dispensed with.

These high pressure sprays also removed practically all of the smallpieces of silk and husks that have heretofore adhered to the ears andkernels and. were too small to be gripped by the rolls. The sprays washthem out of the interstices of the kernels where the usual flood of washwater without pressure never could remove them. The husker rollshertofore, have had a tendency to gum up more or less from very smallpieces of husks and silk and accumulate more or less field dirt andrequire stopping the machine to clean them off. With the high pressuresprays, even with corn passing, enough of the spray strikes the rollswith a cutting action that strips all of this accumulation off the rollsurfaces and obviates the necessity of frequent cleaning.

Many times the husker rolls are covered with a comparatively soft rubberto give a good gripping surface to bite the husks and remove themquickly. The ordinary fiush water that has usually been used was neversufficient in either volume or force to keep these rubber surfaces cleanof accumulated field dirt and small pieces of hugs and silk. Thisaccumulation remaining continually on the rubber surfaces has tended tocause pitting, indentations and quick deterioration from the constantpounding of the roll surfaces and the passing husk with the result thatthe rolls had to be replaced quite frequently.

The high pressure sprays projecting onto these soft rubber surfacesclear this accumulated dbris away from the rolls before it has a chanceto injure them in any manner with the result celerated due to a, moreeven contact with the rolls and thereby the husks and silks removed morequickly and a longer time given to thoroughly wash the ears.

The bouncing of the ears on the rotating rolls has always been more orless of a problem. It is desirable to speed the rolls as fast aspossible so the husks will be removed quickly and the final huskingefiort be directed to getting the small silks and husks oil that areadhering to the kernels, but when the ears bounce around on the rollsthe rolls cannot bite these small particles and they are neverefiectively removed in the husker.

Since the high pressure sprays have been positioned to direct theirforce onto the top sides of the ears in just the right locationpractically all bouncing has been eliminated so that the ears lie muchcloser to the rolls than ever before with the result that the efiiciencyof the husking operation has been greatly increased and the time muchlengthened when the kernels are exposed to the sprays during the rest ofthe husking operation for the removal of the smut and other debris andthe removal of the small pieces of husks and silks that the rolls cannever reach removabecause it has not the force to detach the adheringparticles from the interstices of the kernels.

' In Figure 6 is shown an application of high pressure sprays to theears of corn while on inclined husking rolls.

When green corn is husked in this manner the problems encountered aresomewhat different than where the ears are fed sidewise over the huskingrolls.

The only feed means applied to the ears when the rolls are inclined isgravity and the bouncing imparted to the ears through the rotation ofthe rolls. Under these conditions all ears do not move along the rollsat the same speed with the result that quite frequently an ear getsupended and sticks in the rolls thus clogging the feed and causing theoncoming ears to pile up and necessitate stopping the machine to relievethe congestion. With the high pressure sprays, however, projecting ontothe ears they have a very marked tendency to hold the ears down on therolls and further to accelerate the feed movement of the ears along therolls with the result the much better husking is done and clogging isgreatly eliminated, and further, the action of the sprays against theears tends to loosen the husks and in many instances will almost effectcomplete removal so that the rolls merely pull the husks and silksthrough and away from the ears. The constant cleansing of the rolls isalso of importance because with the ordinary sprays usually used thecleansing action was far from effective, there being insufficient forceto wash away the accumulations of husks, silks and mashed corn and dirtaccumulated in the field.

During many years experience with commercial huskers employing inclinedrolls it has been found that better general results are obtained whenthe ears are passed down the rolls point first, since in this way theymove with the least resistance. The ears are so shown in Fig. 6, butwith high pressure spray jets properly placed to strike against the earsat an angle that will tend to lift and loosen the husks the ears may beplaced on the rolls with the butt end down and the sprays strikingagainst the silk end of the ear will have a tendency to loosen thefolded husks at the end and make husking much more efficient and rapidso that the husked ears will have a longer time under the sprays to washoff smut worm dirt etc., and thus will be produced a much cleaner andhigher quality of corn, because certain dbris will be removed from theears that heretofore has been almost impossible of removal in regularcommercial operation.

The application of wash water to the ears during the husking operationis not new but the application has heretofore been of insufficientpressure to effect the changes and produce the results obtained with thehigh pressure sprays. In practice it has been found that a pressureapproximating two to eight hundred pounds per square inch has givensatisfactory results, although these pressures may be varied somewhat tosuit factory conditions and the particular kinds and conditions of cornbeing handled.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus for removing the husks and silks from ears of green cornor the like comprising means for first cutting off the butt end of thecar, a rotary device for receiving the butted ears and moving themintermittently past husking rolls to thereby loosen the husks at thatend, providing a high pressure spray inside of and substantially centralwith said rotary device to contact with the silk end of the ear toloosen the husks and silks, rotating husking rolls for then engaging theloosened husks to strip them from the ear and means for moving the earstransversely of their axes through intermittent steps during the huskingthereof.

2. An apparatus for removing the husks and silks from ears of green cornor the like comprising means for cutting the butt end of the ear off toloosen the husks at that end, a rotary device for receiving the buttedears and moving them intermittently past husking rolls, means forprojecting a high pressure spray of liquid against the silk end toloosen the husk and silks at that end, said high pressure spray actingradially from the center of said rotary device, rotating rolls for thenengaging the loosened husks and. silks and strip them from the ear,additional means for then projecting high pressure sprays of liquid ontothe husked ears to remove adhering dbris therefrom and means for movingthe ears transversely of their axes through intermittent steps duringthe husking thereof.

3. An apparatus for removing the husks and silks from ears of green cornor the like comprising means for moving successive ears along apredetermined path transversely of their axes, means along said path forcutting the butts of said ears off, a pair of husking rolls, rotarymeans for moving the butted ears onto said rolls, high pressure spraydevices positioned over said rolls and inside of said rotary means toproject liquid sprays onto said ears while on said rolls, means forrotating said IOlls whereby to rotate said ears, the said liquid spraysloosening the husks thus assisting said rolls to remove them from theears, the said sprays then contacting with the kernels to removeadhering residue and dbris therefrom and means for moving the earstransversely of their axes through intermittent steps during the huskingthereof.

4. A green corn husking machine comprising a butting device, a conveyorfor moving ears past said butting device, rotating husking rollsarranged in parallel relation to form a valley therebetween for thesupport of ears of corn, rotary means for moving said ears to and pastsaid rolls, a series of high pressure spray devices arranged over saidrolls and said ears and inside of said rotary means and positioned toproject sprays of liquid radially with sufficient force to cause saidears to lie in contact with said rolls and to reduce the tendency ofsaid ears to bounce through the rotative action of said rolls and meansto rotate the rolls and means for moving the ears transversely of theiraxes through intermittent steps during the husking thereof.

5. A machine for husking green corn comprising means for butting thecorn, rotating rolls for removing the husks from the butted ears, rotarymeans for moving said ears to and past said rolls, high pressure liquidsprays located over said rolls and ears and inside of said rotary meansfor projecting jet sprays of liquid at high pressure against the outersurface of the ears while resting on the husking rolls, the point ofcontact of said jet sprays on said ears being substantially on the topbut enough to one side to cause the ears to lie in contact with bothrolls, the restraining effect of the jet sprays acting to prevent theears from bouncing on the rolls and thereby increase the efficiency ofoperation.

6. A machine for removing the husks from green corn comprising means formoving ears in succession transversely of their axes, a butting devicefor successively removing the butts from ears, husking rolls forsupporting and removing the husks from the ears, rotary means for movingsaid ears to and past said rolls, high pressure jet sprays located overthe ears and inside said rotary means the sprays contacting with theears at a point somewhat tangent to the periphery thereof to cause theears to hug both of said rolls and to counteract any tendency of theears to bounce on the rolls, said sprays acting on the husked ears toremove tightly adhering smut'and other dbris before they are dischargedfrom contact with said rolls and means for moving the ears transverselyof their axes through intermittent steps during the husking thereof.

'7. A machine for removing the husks from green corn or the likecomprising means for cutting the butts from ears of corn, husking rollsfor removing the husks from the ears, rotary means for moving said earsto and past said rolls, high pressure jet sprays inside said rotarymeans for impinging against the husks while the rollers are removingthem from the ears, the said jet sprays continuing to impinge againstthe ears after the husks are removed to loosen and remove smut and otherdbris and means for moving the ears transversely of their axes throughintermittent steps during the husking thereof.

8. A machine for removing the husks and silks from ears of green corncomprising means for cutting the butts from the ears, rotary huskingrolls in pairs for supporting and removing the husks from the ears whilethey are successively presented to said pairs of rolls, rotary means formoving said ears to said rolls, high pressure jet sprays inside of saidrotary means for impinging against the husks while the rolls areremoving them from the ears, means for rotating the rolls continuouslyand means for moving the ears intermittently from one pair of rolls toanother pair of rolls, the said high pressure jet sprays continuing toplay on said ears after the husks are removed to thereby loosen andremove adhering dbris, the point of contact of said sprays with saidears being somewhat tangent thereto cause the ears to hug the said rollsto maintain good contact.

9. A machine for removing the husks from ears of green corn comprisingrotating husking rolls for engaging the husks and stripping them fromthe ears, said rolls being arranged in pairs for successive operation oneach ear, rotary means for intermittently moving an car from one pair ofrolls to another pair of rolls, a hollow shaft for the support of saidintermittent rotary means, high pressure sprays emanating from saidhollow shaft and directed to contact with said ears while resting onsaid rolls, means for imparting intermittent movement to said ear movingmeans to move the ears from one pair of rolls to the next pair, the saidspray means contacting with the ears on either pair of rolls.

10. A machine for removing the husks from ears of green corn comprisinga plurality of pairs of husking rolls, a single intermittently operatedturret device for feeding ears of corn in succession to said pluralityof husking rolls, a hollow shaft extending through the axis of saidturret, high pressure spray devices adapted to project jet sprays ontothe ears of corn while on said husking rolls, said sprays emanating fromsaid hollow shaft, said sprays contacting with said ears at a point tocause the ears to hug both of the rolls of a pair and thereby aid in theremoval of the husks.

11. The method of removing the husks and silk from ears of green corn bymeans of husking rolls consisting in cutting the butt end off the ear toloosen the husks at that end, stripping the husks, from the ear on therolls and loosening the husks by projecting high pressure liquid spraysagainst the body of the ear.

12. The method of removing the husks and silk from ears of green corn bymeans of husking rolls consisting in cutting the butt end off the ear toloosen the husks at that end, stripping the husks from the ear on therolls and loosening the husks and silk by projecting high pressuresprays of liquid against the silk end and body of the ear, and thenremoving adhering silks smut and worm dirt from the husked ears byprojecting high pressure liquid sprays onto the ears.

FLOYD A. KNIGHT.

